MICHAEL Ricketts was tipped today to emulate Marcus Stewart's incredible scoring streak.

The Ipswich hit-man set the Premiership alight last season when he racked up 19 league goals in a team that confounded the critics, not only surviving their first season after promotion, but finishing fifth to secure a place in Europe.

Now Ricketts, who has already scored eight with less than a third of the season gone, is strongly fancied to follow in his humble footsteps.

"I don't think Marcus Stewart's talent was ever in any doubt," Simon Charlton said in tribute to the man Wanderers know they must keep under wraps at Portman Road tomorrow.

"It just needed someone to give him a chance and George Burley took the gamble when he paid £2.5 million on him and it's paid off.

"But it's just the same with Michael Ricketts. Ricks was doing it in the lower leagues and Sam (Allardyce) took a chance on him as well.

"It just goes to show that, if you've got a player who can put the ball in the net, he'll do it at any level.

"He's definitely one to watch because he really has that deadly touch on him at the moment. What makes them both remarkable is that they are scoring goals in teams that are not expected to be doing well in the Premiership. Stewart's done it with Ipswich and Ricks is doing it with us and, with his help, we're proving a lot of people wrong.

"I know our manager went on record as saying he wasn't ready and wasn't fit enough but he's shown in the last few games that he's worked on it and getting through 90 minutes with no problems.

"And on top of that, he's causing people all sorts of problems."